Beloved sportscaster Jamie Campbell 'sees life differently' following cancer diagnosis
Sportscaster Jamie Campbell has always been active. But he says he lives life with greater zest since being diagnosed with a common blood cancer in January 2021.
“It was a random blood test,” says the host of Toronto Blue Jays telecasts. “So truthfully, after I had gotten the blood test, I wasn’t expecting a phone call. And when that call came in, it revealed this diagnosis of CLL.”
Campbell said he knew about leukemia but had never heard of CLL, also known as chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
“It’s one of the most common forms of blood cancer that affects about 2,000 patients, newly diagnosed in Canada every year,” Dr. Christine Chen, a hematologist at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, told CTV News Toronto.
While the majority of patients are diagnosed in their 60s and 70s, Chen notes she also has patients in their 20s.
CLL is highly treatable, and patients without symptoms do not require any treatment.
That’s how it was for Campbell in the first 14 months after diagnosis, until recently.
“My white blood cell count became alarmingly high and I had lymph nodes exploding out of my armpits and my neck, and my spleen had grown. And that was the indication that it was time to be treated,” he said.
Campbell was put on medications and six weeks ago, he started taking Brukinsa, a new drug recently approved by Health Canada.
While it isn’t a cure, the hope is that patients like Campbell can live full lives while taking this drug. By the time it’s no longer effective for them, a new medication will be available.
Campbell, now 56, says, if anything, his workout regimen has grown more intense since his diagnosis. His doctors have said maintaining his fitness is key and he’s eager to stay active while he can.
For Campbell, he says he sees his diagnosis as a blessing in disguise.
“As odd as that may sound, in my case it has, because I see life differently. I spend time with the people I love in a different manner” he said. “It’s almost like a light shines on them that I never got to enjoy prior to this diagnosis.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.